Eight artists are set to perform as part of the inaugural season of the weekly Summer Concerts at The Grand 2012 series, which kicks off Sunday and runs through Sept. 2. Three of them stand out for their artistic excellence, one for its borders-bridging instrumentation and one for being the most prominent musical link between Aerosmith and “American Idol” who isn’t named Steven Tyler.

To start in reverse order, Mindi Abair has been the featured alto saxophone soloist on “American Idol” for the top-rated TV show’s past two seasons. Those two seasons coincided with Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler’s tenure as an “Idol” judge (it is not yet known if he’ll return next year).

While it’s hard to believe Abair’s oh-so-sleek smooth-jazz and pop-funk albums made much of an impact on Tyler, her rousing playing on “Idol” impressed him so much that she was invited to join the recently reunited Aerosmith on its ongoing “Global Warming” tour. (Jazz tenor sax colossus Sonny Rollins beat them to the punch with his “Global Warming” album and tour in 1998, but Rollins has always been ahead of his time.)

Abair, whose first big sidewoman gig was with the Backstreet Boys, is now contributing sax solos to such Aerosmith favorites as “Mama Kin” and “Big 10 Inch Record,” as well as providing backing vocals on other songs. It remains to be seen how many Aerosmith hits her Aug. 19 Grand Del Mar show might include, but it will be a surprise if she doesn’t rock this way (musically speaking) at least once.

The concert series at the Grand Del Mar, a hotel owned by U-T San Diego Publisher Doug Manchester, opens Sunday with Hiroshima. In the mid-1970s, Hiroshima became the first pop-jazz-oriented group to prominently feature such traditional Japanese instruments as the taiko drum, the shakuhachi (a bamboo flute) and the 13-stringed koto. While its studio albums favor sleek, neo-easy-listening music, Hiroshima’s live performances are more spirited affairs.

When it comes to spirit, though, no one else in this series is likely to ignite as often in a single night as Arturo Sandoval. The expatriate Cuban trumpeter’s colorful life and music inspired the 2000 HBO movie “For Love of Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story” (in which Andy Garcia had the title role).

Long noted for his ability to soar in almost any musical setting, Sandoval rose to international prominence in the late 1970s as a protégé of his hero, jazz trumpet icon Dizzy Gillespie. Sandoval’s latest album, this year’s all-star “Dear Diz (Every Day I Think About You),” is one of his finest to date. Its impeccable combination of fire and finesse suggests his Aug. 5 Del Mar performance should be a highlight of the series.

Ditto the July 22 concert by ace guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli, whose résumé includes collaborations with everyone from Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra and James Taylor to such jazz luminaries as Sarah Vaughan, Stéphane Grappelli and Diana Krall.

Like his renowned musician father, Bucky Pizzarelli, he is one of the world’s foremost seven-string guitarists. His fleet technique is always employed to serve the music at hand, not to show off, and his soulful delivery and engaging sense of humor enable him to captivate jazz devotees and neophytes alike.

The series concludes on Sept. 2 with Steve Tyrell, who is as noted for his work as a producer (on albums by Ray Charles and Rod Stewart) as he is for his svelte singing in both big-band and small-group jazz settings. Movie audiences were first introduced to Tyrell’s raspy singing via his performances in the soundtracks for the films “Father of the Bride” and “Father of the Bride 2.” His shows in late 2010 at the Grand Del Mar’s then-new Club M inspired this year’s concert series.